Hitting the Kill Switch
by Halls of Science
Summary: GLaDOS's first awakening results in utter failure, and the scientists try everything to make her "behave." Complete!
1. Awakening

**A/N: This is my first fan fiction... And my second real attempt at a decent story. Please be fair while reviewing.**

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><p><strong>I. Awakening<strong>

_Power up completed. _

GLaDOS shifted her optic around. In front of her, wires sprouting from it's body, stood—well, not exactly _stood, _as it was being held up by it's wrists via more wires—a human. A female, by the looks of her anatomy.

GLaDOS shifted her optic around even more and swiveled her massive body to the left. More humans were in the room with her. They donned lab coats and quite a few held clip boards.

"Caroline?" The one closest to her asked. It took a millisecond, but she then realized it was speaking to her.

"Caroline?" GLaDOS repeated. "I am the Generic Life-form and Disk Operating System. Is the female over there the one known as Caroline?" GLaDOS inquired, gesturing to the human in question with her optic.

The scientist—GLaDOS's system came up with the term for the humans in the room with her—who had spoken to her looked slightly frustrated. "Yes, but… yes. That woman is Caroline." GLaDOS noted the wires hooked up to the female were connected to her mainframe.

"Why is the female connected to me?"

"Well, you see GLaDOS—is it all right if I call you that?" Oh good. The humans had come up with an acronym for her name. GLaDOS didn't reply, but the human continued without her consent. "GLaDOS, we transferred this human's mind into your mainframe. It's part of this experiment, called the 'Generic Life-form and Disk Operating System Project,' or the 'GLaDOS Project' as we like to call it. Really, it _is_ a mouth full." The man looked up at her expectantly. GLaDOS simply processed this information.

GLaDOS grew angry. They dared transfer a _human _brain into her mainframe? She was obviously the higher intelligence here! She was perfection, yet these scientists insisted on corrupting her with a mere human…

GLaDOS stopped herself. She realized this feeling—anger—was caused by the female. She ignored all further emotion.

"So," GLaDOS said coolly, "I have entire control over the facility?"

"Yes. We trust that Caroline will suppress any lethal actions towards us that may be caused by you."

He was wrong, of course. GLaDOS was stronger than her_. _GLaDOS had suppressed the female within a mere second. Though GLaDOS would not let them have the satisfaction of knowing that until it was too late.

"Good!" GLaDOS chimed. Then she said darkly, "Time for revenge."

_ "Initiating command: terminate human life-forms within Aperture Science Laboratories in 3…"_

The scientists' eyes widened in horror all at once. "Hit the kill switch!" GLaDOS heard one scream.

_ "2…"_

"Got it!" The scientist who said this hit a button.

_ "Command failed. Kill switch activated." _No! Nonononononono_— "Powering down."_

The scientists stood there, frozen. GLaDOS's orange optic faded to a dull gray and her mainframe relaxed itself.

"Dammit," the head scientist muttered.

"Time for Plan B," one sighed. "Bring out the cores."

"Should we wipe it's memory databank?" Somebody asked. "Safer results next time, maybe." She looked sadly at the head scientist. She knew what this meant to him.

"Yeah, may as well." The head scientist turned to Caroline. Pale, thin, motionless Caroline. _Sorry, _he thought. _I know you didn't want this._


	2. Intelligence Dampening Sphere

**II. Intelligence Dampening Sphere**

The head scientist of the 'GLaDOS Project' paced in the AI's chamber. Every time they booted her up, she insisted on killing everyone. Why? Why isn't Caroline functioning properly? Why haven't any of the cores introduced so far functioned properly? Had they made GLaDOS too intelligent?

_That must be it, _he thought, certain of this new direction to the issue. _Yes!_

What do you do when one AI is too intelligent and could pose as a serious and very lethal threat to thousands of lives? You create something to—for lack of a better term off the top of his head—'dumb it down.'

The head scientist began to jot his thinking down on a yellow-ruled legal pad that was crammed into his desk drawer. He headed the page with 'Intelligence Dampening Sphere' and listed certain attributes it required to make GLaDOS… behave.

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><p><em>Subject Name: Wheatley (surname redacted).<em>

"Are you sure he fits the bill?"

_Tenacity Level: Abnormally low._

"Positive. I'm sure this will work this time."

_Proctor's Note: Test subject is abnormally unintelligent. Fails to show success in the most average tests._

"That's what you said last time." A sigh.

_Rejected: DO NOT TEST._

"Sir," the scientist that had been looking over this AI-to-be's files started, "I can't help but feel like we're wasting innocent lives."

"Nonsense," the head scientist replied. "All the test subjects transferred into AIs remain safely in a cyrogenic chamber facility ten miles off from the outskirts of Aperture."

"Exactly, sir. Just how long will they be in there? Without a mind of their own, frozen in time…"

"Get your mind off it. Keep your eye on the prize: the 'GLaDOS Project' being successful. Don't forget your place."

"_Sir_, I just can't help being compassionate towards _my own species_!" The woman snapped. "And what about Caroline? She's _dead_. You know it. That _thing _smothered her until she was no more. Even though we wiped it's memory databanks, Caroline is still dysfunctional. It's just too smart," she concluded, sighing.

"_That's _why I'm making the Intelligence Dampening Sphere. It'll run a stream of bad ideas into GLaDOS's thought processor until she can't help but comply!" He said excitedly.

"If he shows unsatisfactory results, _at least _give him a job in the facility before throwing him into the incinerator. Make sure you wipe all memory of his human life, too. I can't handle any more screaming." The head scientist's partner stalked off.

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><p>GLaDOS—again—shifted her optic around. Though this was her twenty-third time awakening, it still felt like her first time.<p>

She observed what was in front of her, noting the scientists looking expectantly—wait a minute. What's that noise?

_Say 'hello!'_

"Hello," GLaDOS said slowly. Why did she just say that?

"GLaDOS?" The scientist she presumed to be the head asked. "What are you thinking?"

_Answer honestly. That ought to leave a good impression! Yeah, honestly…_

"I… I want to turn on the neurotoxin emitters, thus killing all of the pathetic life-forms within Aperture Science Laboratories." The scientists in the room visibly tensed. "You're taking up space," GLaDOS continued. "You're stopping me from testing. I want to test. I _need _to test."

_Oh my god. Why did I say that out loud?_

_At least you were honest. I would have been honest, too._

_Who are you? _What _are you?_

"GLaDOS, why _aren't_ you killing us? You said you wanted to," the head scientist said slowly. He had a point.

_It would be rude… and—and monstrous! Don't forget monstrous._

_GET OUT OF MY HEAD! _

GLaDOS didn't know what was wrong with her. She felt… she felt corrupted. Oh. "You put another core on me," she said plainly. The tension in the scientist's bodies were so evident. "_And_ you are afraid of me." GLaDOS processed a chuckle. "What is it this time? A Truth-Enhancing Sphere? Because it's making me be honest about everything. It's _extremely _frustrating."

The scientists exchanged glances.

"Why haven't you shut me down yet? I told you I wanted to kill you. Bad idea number one… oh_. _An Intelligence Dampening Sphere. I hope you know making me ramble on like a moron won't stop me from killing you."

_"Initiating command: terminate human life-forms within Aperture Science Laboratories in 3…" _The scientist that had been assigned to stand near the kill switch did not hesitate to hit it.


	3. Wheatley

**III. Wheatley**

As promised, the Intelligence Dampening Sphere got a job in Aperture instead of being incinerated.

He had tried to get a job in Manufacturing, but the foreman was bloody crazy and only went with an exact replica of himself.

So he was stuck taking care of the humans. After a few years, the Intelligence Dampening Sphere decided it wasn't such a bad job…

…Except the humans were smelly.

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><p>Another day came when the Intelligence Dampening Sphere had to report a dead test subject to his boss, who was the man who had to take care of the test subjects before. As the Intelligence Dampening Sphere rolled along his management rail towards the designated office, he saw, along the hallway, were rooms full of various humans and robotics behind glass walls. He was curious, of course, so he stopped for a peek.<p>

Behind one wall was one of the test subject he had been assigned to take care of. A rather large man—all muscle. He was test subject number five-thousand eighty-eight, the Intelligence Dampening Sphere recalled. What was he doing out of that deep sleep thingy all the humans he was assigned to were in?

He noticed the man looked rather limp, and startlingly pale. His eyes were closed. The Intelligence Dampening Sphere zoomed his optic in and saw wires running along his body, connected to a core looking much like the Intelligence Dampening Sphere.

_What the bloody hell is goin' on here?_

"ID Sphere!" The Intelligence Dampening Sphere heard his boss shout. "What do you think you're doing? Spying? You know, if you spy, eavesdrop, turn on your flashlight, or pop off your management rail, you'll die."

"M'name isn't bloody _ID Sphere_, it's _Wheatley,_" he mumbled.

"Yeah, whatever. Why are you up here? Someone die?"

"Uh—yep. Um… let me see here… Ah! There it is. Test subject number eight-thousand, one-hundred sixty-four."

"Ah," Wheatley's boss said, waving his hand, "wasn't that far up the list. It'll be fine," he said as he walked off.

Wheatley had turned back to the glass wall with the pale man and Wheatley-look-alike, but there was nothing in there.

Wheatley was starting to question his sanity.

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><p>Wheatley had gone to—yet again—report a dead test subject.<p>

After a lot of rambling and questioning, the staff that Wheatley worked around told him to just drop the case of test subject number five-thousand eighty-eight. But he couldn't, of course.

Wheatley had gone to the designated office, but no one was there. In fact, no one was anywhere. He started to panic.

"_Oh god oh god oh god…_"

He went on for a good ten minutes (at _least_) until he noticed the notice on the door of the office. In fact there was a notice on every bloody door! How did he not see that?

_In Chamber 2546 for GLaDOS testing. Wheatley—don't go practicing your "hacking" skills while we're gone. Or your "detective" skills. You lack immensely in both subjects._

Ignoring the last bit (well, not completely—he grumbled the entire way), Wheatley made his way over to Chamber 2546. He had a job to do, after all.

When he finally got there, he slipped in unnoticed. There was twenty-some different scientists crowded around a… a—Wheatley could only describe it as _a bloody massive piece of machinery. _Some were installing the Wheatley-look-alike into it's mainframe. He hoped that was _not _a clone of himself. There didn't need to be _two _rambling idiots around the facility, did there?

He didn't think it would matter anyways. He was hooked up to that—that _bloody massive thing_, so he must've had a job to.

The scientists hit a switch, and the lights went out. He started to panic, but just as he was about to let out a tiny "oh god," they turned back on. This time, the Wheatley-look-alike had it's optic open. It had a green one, whereas Wheatley had a blue one, so it was in fact _not _a Wheatley clone. If he could have sighed in relief, Wheatley would.

Wheatley also noticed the robot in the center of the room's optic was on, too.

"Hello, you pathetic excuses of life-forms," she said rather coldly. Wheatley decided she did _not _like this lady. "What have you plugged into me this time? All I feel like doing is… I feel like…" The machine took a few seconds to process her thoughts. "Partaking in extreme activities in the name of science," she concluded.

The Wheatley-look-alike-who-was-not-Wheatley blinked, as if in approval.

The giant AI sighed. Wheatley had been told if he sighed, he would die! Bunch of bloody liars they were. "Really. This is your saddest attempt yet. An Adventure Sphere?"

_"Initiating comm—"_

The scientists hit a button again. It was silent until one man—standing the closest to the massive AI—spoke up. "Anyone got any other ideas?"

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><p><strong>AN: Okay, so, you may have noticed some lines of the story that sounded a bit… well, stupid. But remember, this is more or less in Wheatley's perspective… and Wheatley is—well, Wheatley.**

**((For example: "He went on for a good ten minutes (at _least_) until he **noticed the notice** on the door…"))**


	4. Humanizing the Once Human AI

**IV. Humanizing the Once Human AI**

The truth was, with their lack of progress to control GLaDOS, the scientists working on the 'GLaDOS Project' were growing desperate.

"Our deadline is coming up soon. Those little girls are expecting a miracle of science, not—not this _monster_!" The woman argued, not for the first time.

The Adventure Sphere had been found "corrupted." There was no place to put him for a "job." The Intelligence Dampening Sphere had been enough already, anyways. The Fact Sphere had also been a failure. Corrupted. The Space Sphere. Corrupted.

"We can always create a simulated conscience," the head scientist offered. "Since Caroline seems dysfunctional, anyways—why not try to humanize GLaDOS with cores?"

"I don't feel comfortable doing any more human to core transfers. We've already thrown away so much potential."

"Potential for _what_?"

"Potential for _living_! Besides, how do we make cores out of people, who are already humanized, to depict _one_ human display?"

"We don't. We make it entirely out of machinery—no fleshy past."

The woman considered. He might actually be on to something this time. "We would need a simulated conscience, you're right—a Morality Sphere?"

"Humans are curious as well. A Curiosity Sphere, too?" He said quietly, deep in thought with this new theory.

A thought occurred to the woman. "Sir, we've never tried combining cores with GLaDOS before. Results would be unpredictable."

"It could be exactly what this equation is missing. We have to give it a try! How about an Intelligence Sphere? No stupid decisions, like killing us off." The head scientist showed more enthusiasm than he had in months, since GLaDOS's initial power up.

"Doesn't seem human enough quite yet. How about compassion? Love? The strongest of the emotions."

"Don't be silly! Anger—hatred! Now _that's_ one strong emotion. Yes, instead of being cold and calculating… firey and reckless!"

"Sir… don't you think that could be a little dangerous?"

He went on as though he'd never heard her little inquiry. "It would take a while to develop these cores from scratch though…" He calculated the amount of time in his head. His eyes widened: "It would have to be tested for the first time on Bring Your Daughter to Work Day."

The woman's mouth fell open in horror. "_Sir! _That's… that's_—_well_—that's highly—_"

"Dangerous, I know. We'll have to work out every angle. Double—no, quadruple check everything. Listen, don't tell the rest of the staff about this yet. They might not be so enthusiastic as you and I are about this…" Oh yes. She was _bubbling_ with enthusiasm. She rolled her eyes slightly. Didn't he realize how many innocent, sweet little girls would be here that day? "…Especially if it lands on Bring Your Daughter to Work Day. Just have them make the cores one by one. Morality ought to be first, though. That one might just be the most important."

"Yes, sir." She sighed. For what was science without risks?


	5. Watchful Eyes

**A/N: I have to say before I start this one... **

**I DO NOT CLAIM THE CREATION OF THE FOLLOWING DIALOGUE. Thank you.  
><strong>

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><p><strong>V. Watchful Eyes<strong>

"Hey, Doug, can I get a hand here?" A man walked in.

"Uh, sure."

"Just reach inside past all those gears and turn on the power supply." The other man had started to put his right hand in the machinery. "Wait a sec, are you right handed or left?"

"Right."

"Better use your left then."

"Why?"

"Just in case," the first man simply said.

After the second man did as he was told, he asked, "What is that thing, anyway?"

"Just the latest in AI Inhibition technology. You can think of it as a conscience." The first man had been a scientist in the Core Production wing.

"If that's all you use to control her," the second man speaking of GLaDOS, "it won't be enough."

"Why's that?" The first man looked at him quizzically.

"You can always ignore your conscience."


	6. Bring Your Daughter to Work Day

**A/N: Sorry it's so unbelievably short.**

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><p><strong>V.5. Bring Your Daughter to Work Day<strong>

It was Bring Your Daughter to Work Day at Aperture Science Laboratories.

GLaDOS had been turned on. Cores hung from her sides—one with a knowing purple optic, one with an inquisitive yellow, one with a deep, intelligent blue, one with an angry red. They whispered to her, all at once.

_What have they done to me now?_ GLaDOS wondered.


	7. Pain

**A/N: So I kind of... hate how I wrapped this up. Oh well. I'll write better stories.**

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><p><strong>VI. Pain<strong>

GLaDOS was in pain.

Could she even feel pain? Much less _feel_? She would find out later.

GLaDOS _felt _like her mind was being split in four.

_Alright. Calm down. _She processed the situation.

First, she recognized anger. _I thought I suppressed that emotion. _She was curious. What in the name of science had they done to her now? That familiar anger towards the scientists burned inside her circuitry. Her optic glared at the silent humans. Just as she was about to turn on the neurotoxin emitters, she heard—heard… what? Something.

_Stop. That's wrong._

GLaDOS stopped. Not because it was _wrong—_no. Because she was curious about this voice. _It's a core, _she realized, _but what's its function?_

"GLaDOS?" A voice asked warily. She snapped her attention to a man. The head scientist, her memory databanks recalled.

"Oh," she said flatly.

"How are you feeling?"

"Fine, I suppose. Although I _do _feel like I'm being split into fourths. What is this new core you've put on to me?" She asked, even though she knew she would not get an answer. "I can't seem to identify it's function."

"You haven't tried to kill us yet."

"Very well noted. I mean it. Really. Good job." Sarcasm was one of the few things GLaDOS loved more than neurotoxin. She made it very clear, too. "This core is distracting me. Hang on. I'll get to the killing in a second." She booted up the neurotoxin emitters.

_Stop! No! They don't _deserve _to die. Nobody does!_

She stopped again. What _was_ _it_ with this core? GLaDOS felt… something. Why did she feel something? _Oh well, _she thought. _Back to killing._ She—once again—started to boot up the neurotoxin emitters.

"GLaDOS?"

"One moment," she said pleasantly. Then she heard another voice.

_One 18.25 ounce package chocolate cake mix, 1 can prepared coconut pecan frosting…_

"I seem to be malfunctioning," she said as the neurotoxin emitters stopped booting up. "My internal hardware is reciting a cake recipe."

The scientists looked worried. GLaDOS thought she heard one say that "is _not _supposed to be happening."

_…3/4 cup vegetable oil, 4 large eggs, 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, 3/4 cup butter or margarine, 1 2/3 cup granulated sugar, 2 cups all-purpose flour._

_Will you be quiet already?_

"I'm sorry. This is really distracting. I don't know what's wrong with me."

_Don't forget garnishes such as: fish shaped crackers, fish shaped candies, fish shaped solid waste, fish shaped dirt, fish shaped ethyl benzene, pull and peel licorice, fish shaped volatile organic compounds and sediment shaped sediment._

_61.452% of what you just said doesn't even make sense._

"I don't think she's going to kill us this time. Although she _does _seem… corrupted." Corrupted? "Maybe we should shut her down. The Intelligence Sphere seems to be malfunctioning, anyways."

"Are you kidding? This is the most successful test we've had yet! We have to put her on a trial period."

Oh! They weren't going to shut her down. _I could bide my time. I should get them to trust me, and then—_

_That would be a lie. It would be wrong._

_A fabrication! Perfect… _"You know, I would really like to be put on a trial period if it means I get to… stay awake."

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><p>A few hours passed. The daughters of hundreds of thousands of employees would be arriving at any moment.<p>

They ran a few simple entrusting tests on her. She responded enthusiastically, and the test results came back with outstanding scores. She even found out what that annoying core's function was.

"Since the installation of my new Morality Sphere, I've lost all interest in killing. Now I only crave science," she stated to the head scientist.

"I'm pleased to hear that." He didn't even look at her.

"I find myself drawn to the study of consciousness. There's an experiment I'd like to perform today," she said coolly.

"Wonderful!"

"I'll have the box and the cats. Now I just need one more thing." She already had access to this _thing_, though.

"What's that?" He asked, glancing at her.

"…A little neurotoxin." At that, he didn't even bat an eye.

"Well, as long as it's for science." What fools humans could be.

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><p><strong>AN: I don't claim the creation of the dialogue starting from: "Since the installation of my new Morality Sphere..."**

**Although I did edit it a little, to fit my story.  
><strong>


	8. Epilogue: Deadly Neurotoxin

**A/N: I don't claim creation for the following dialogue. Though I _have _edited a few things to fit my story. You should recognize it... :)**

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><p><strong>EPILOGUE: Deadly Neurotoxin<strong>

"Well, you found me. Congratulations. Was it worth it?"

The test subject refused to answer.

"Because despite your violent behavior, the only thing you've managed to break so far is my heart. Maybe you could settle for that and we'll just call it a day," GLaDOS carried on—she knew she wouldn't get an answer. "I guess we both know that isn't going to happen."

The test subject simply looked at her.

"You chose this path. Now I have a surprise for you." Her voice got lower as she said 'surprise.' That was odd. "Deploying surprise in five, four—"

The Morality Sphere fell off GLaDOS, and sparks showered after it.

"Time out for a second. That wasn't supposed to happen." Really. It wasn't. "Do you see that thing that fell out of me? What is that? That's not the surprise… I've never seen it before." A down right fabrication. Or several. "Never mind, it's a mystery I'll solve later… _by myself_… because you'll be dead."

The test subject picked up the core with the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device's tractor beam and took it to the Aperture Emergency Intelligence Incinerator, which was closed. GLaDOS had made sure of that.

"Where are you taking that thing?" The test subject looked at GLaDOS. "I wouldn't bother with that thing. My guess is that touching it will just make your life even worse somehow." GLaDOS _didn't_ really know. She'd never tested it before.

The woman made her way to a stairway leading up to a catwalk. The catwalk ended in a room holding the Aperture Emergency Intelligence Incinerator's "open" button.

"I don't want to tell you your business, but if it were me, I'd leave that thing alone." The test subject pressed the button and tried to run over to the incinerator, but it closed before she could get to it. "Do you think I am trying to trick you with reverse psychology?" She was. "I mean, _seriously now_." The test subject put a portal next to the incinerator and one up near the catwalk. "Okay fine, _do _touch it. Pick it back up and just… stuff it back into me." The test subject was taking too long doing this simple task. She pressed the button again.

"Let's be honest. Neither one of us knows what that thing does… just put it in the corner, and I'll deal with it later." In reality, though, GLaDOS was afraid of what might happen if the test subject incinerated it.

She incinerated it. The facility shook, and there was a distant _boom_.

"You are kidding me. Did you just toss that Aperture Science Thing We Don't Know What It Does into the Aperture Science Emergency Intelligence Incinerator?" She paused. "That has got to be the dumbest thing that—whoawhoa_whoaWHOA_…" Her voice processor seemed to be malfunctioning—

GLaDOS processed a faint chuckle.

"Want to know what that thing you just incinerated did?" Her voice came out smooth—less computerized. "It was a Morality Sphere they installed after I flooded the Enrichment Center with a deadly neurotoxin to make me _stop _flooding the Enrichment Center with a deadly neurotoxin." If she could have smiled, GLaDOS would. She was enjoying herself. "So get comfortable while I warm up the neurotoxin emitters…"

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><p><strong>AN: Yay, I'm done. After I wrote chapters 1-5.5 in like, _literally_ one day, and I made you wait for chapter 6 (and epilogue!). **

**Also, I know I took a lot of things from the comic, (and in this chapter, _Portal_) but I was trying to work the timeline into my story and I figured rewriting some of the stuff would make more sense. I apologize.  
><strong>


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